Watchdog report alleges red-state university trained executives tied to China's defense sector
A public university in the American heartland spent more than two decades educating executives tied to China's military-industrial complex through a business program that allegedly received taxpayer support, a new...
By Fox News · Fox News
A public university in the American heartland spent more than two decades educating executives tied to China's military-industrial complex through a business program that allegedly received taxpayer support, a new watchdog report claims. The report, titled Heartland for Hire, compiled by the geopolitical research firm Strategy Risks, alleges that Missouri State University (MSU) operated an MBA and Executive MBA pipeline that trained more than 1,500 Chinese executives, government officials and state-owned enterprise managers beginning in 2001, including personnel connected to China's defense sector. Graduates of the program, according to the report, included executives linked to Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China's largest state-owned aerospace and defense conglomerate. AVIC has been designated by the U.S. Defense Department as a Chinese military company and has faced U.S. sanctions and investment restrictions over its ties to Beijing's military establishment. MAJOR COLLEGES FACE HEAT OVER CHINESE SCHOLARSHIP TIES AS ESPIONAGE CONCERNS MOUNT The report's authors argue the program occupied a blind spot in Washington's scrutiny of U.S.-China academic ties, which Fox News Digital has extensively reported on . "Congressional and executive branch attention to American universities' ties to the CCP has been focused almost entirely on three areas: STEM research theft, issues involving free speech and harassment of Chinese students, and Chinese military-affiliated graduate students in defense-relevant doctoral programs," the report states. "This cadre training problem falls into a gap between existing oversight frameworks." In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Missouri State University said the school was aware of the report and denied that any taxpayer dollars were used to fund the program. "As the report further acknowledges, the students studied a ‘conventional business curriculum’ with no evidence of espionage, intellectual property t…